A steel column temporarily supporting a canopy at San Francisco International
Airport fell over. The Division cited Employer under section 3328(a) on the
theory that a weld between the canopy and the top of a column had been cut and
that without the weld the column was "equipment used under conditions
of stresses which endangers employees." The Board finds that
the column was "equipment" and that slippage between the beam it supported
and the top of the column and heavy traffic vibration in the area caused employee
endangering stresses on the column. The Division was allowed to cite section
3328(a) of the General Industry Safety Orders instead of section 1709 of the
Construction Safety Orders. They are not inconsistent. Employer did not prove
compliance with section 1709--no loading in excess of designed capacity-- and
section 1709 pertains only to overloading, not the stresses involved in this
case, which are addressed by section 3328(a). The violation was serious. The
toppling of a 5-ton column is likely to result in serious physical harm or death.
The weld was cut prematurely. Employer could have known of the violation by
exercising reasonable diligence.